LOGINVIANA’S POVThe first thing I noticed was the silence.Not the peaceful kind. The kind that followed you. That bent when you passed and snapped back into whispers the second you were gone.I felt it before I heard anything outright. Side glances that lingered too long. Conversations that paused mid-sentence. Phones lifted a little higher. Laughter that dropped when I walked by.At first, I told myself I was imagining it.But by Monday afternoon, it was impossible to ignore.I was walking across campus when two girls ahead of me slowed down just enough to look back. One of them leaned close to the other, hand cupped around her mouth. They both stared openly this time, eyes sliding over me like I was something they were trying to figure out.My stomach twisted.I adjusted my bag strap and kept walking.Don’t spiral. Don’t assume. You’re tired.But then I passed a group of guys sitting on the steps outside the library. One of them nudged another and murmured something under his breath. T
Viana’s POVHis words hit me so hard I forgot how to breathe.“When he sits that close to you, it pisses me off.”The words hung between us, thick and heavy, echoing in the quiet room. I stared at him, heart beating so fast I was scared he could hear it.“What do you mean?” I whispered.Alvin paced once, jaw tight, like he wished he could take the words back but couldn’t. Or wouldn’t. His hair was a mess from running his hand through it, and his shirt stretched slightly across his shoulders like he was holding himself together with sheer force.“It just—” He exhaled sharply. “It gets under my skin.”My heart tripped. “Why? Why do you care who sits next to me? Why do you—” I swallowed, heat creeping up my neck. “—lose your mind every time someone talks to me?”He didn’t answer.He just looked at me. Really looked at me. Eyes dark, expression tight, chest rising and falling faster than normal. I could smell hints of alcohol on his breath—he must have taken a few shots before coming.“I
VIANA’S POVThe entire walk to the locker hallway after the game was torment,with the way the gears in my head were turning. My brain felt threatened to explode the second anyone poked me. I kept replaying the brawl in my head like a scene I hadn’t agreed to watch.Alvin’s fist connects with Vance’s jaw. Vance shoving back. The look in Alvin’s eyes was cold, sharp, furious. The way Kevin and Devin had to drag him off like he was seconds from doing real damage.All. Because. Of. Me.I kept trying to label it correctly.Overprotective.Team rivalry.Competitive testosterone.Anything except the one thing that made my palms sweat: jealousy.No. It wasn’t that. It couldn’t be. Alvin barely tolerated me. He only cared that I existed when I irritated him. So the idea that he’d get into a full-on fistfight because Vance flirted—No. I refused to entertain it.Emily was rambling beside me as we walked through the school toward the players’ lounge for the after-party, practically buzzing from
Alvin’s POVGetting dragged off the ice by Kevin and Devin felt like being yanked out of a nightmare I’d walked into willingly.The roar of the crowd faded behind me as the tunnel swallowed the noise. My chest heaved. My fists still tingled. My jaw ached from where Vance’s glove hit me, but that wasn’t why my head was spinning.It was her.Viana.Standing there in the stands with wide eyes and flushed cheeks while Vance leaned over her like he owned the air she breathed.The moment I saw him talking to her, something inside me snapped.Not cracked.Snapped.The door to the changing room slammed behind me, echoing against the tiles. I ripped off my gloves and threw them across the bench. They skidded and fell to the floor.“Dude,” Kevin said, storming in behind me, “what the hell was that?”I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My thoughts were still a blur of fury and adrenaline.Devin came in next, closing the door with a sigh. “You’re lucky the ref didn’t suspend you for the entire season.”
Viana’s POVSaturday came faster than expected.One moment I was eating cereal half-asleep, the next I was staring at my closet like it held the answers to life.“What does one even wear to a hockey game?” I muttered.I finally settled on jeans, a warm sweater, and a jacket because arenas were always colder than necessary. By the time Emily texted she was outside, my stomach already felt like it had been doing gymnastics.“Tonight will be fun,” I whispered to myself—and tried to believe it.Emily honked again.“Okay, okay, I’m coming!”I rushed out, hopping into her car. She grinned at me like I had just agreed to climb a mountain with her.“You look cute,” she said. “Alvin won’t know what hit him.”I frowned. “Emily—”“Fine. I’ll behave. Maybe.”The drive to campus was filled with her playlist and my nervous energy. Students walked in groups toward the arena, laughing, holding signs, wearing jerseys with players’ names. I spotted a few wearing shirts with Alvin’s number on the back.
Viana’s POVI stared at the ceiling that night longer than any normal person should. My mind wouldn’t stop replaying the feeling of almost falling, the way Alvin caught me, the way my heart tried to beat its way out of my chest. I kept telling myself to forget it, to shove it into the deepest corner of my brain and lock it away. But my heart was not cooperating.My phone buzzed beside me.Emily.Of course. She always had perfect timing for emotional ambushes.I answered. “Hey.”“Why do you sound like you’ve just survived a natural disaster?” Emily asked immediately. “Did someone break into your house? Did the new stepbrother annoy the soul out of you? Blink twice if you’re held hostage.”I groaned and buried my face in my pillow. “Nothing happened.”“You sound like something happened,” she shot back. “And I know your voice. That is the ‘I’m pretending I’m fine but actually freaking out’ voice.”I sighed. “It’s really nothing. I just… almost fell down the stairs and he caught me.”Ther







